Today looks like a non-news day, at least for snow, so let's be predictive instead. The charming young ladies on Newsbird on my satellite TV dial tell us that we can see something around 40cm of fresh snow arriving tomorrow (and I do want to trust a pair of fresh 18-year-olds more than some grizzled meteorologist in a plaid jacket). It already looks like some snow may be falling high up on the mountain, so it's a day of hope, even as our previous snow cover continues to thin out day by day.

Maybe we will make the openings later this week after all!

The official (planned) openings for the ski areas are:

Akakura Kanko Ski Area (Akakan): December 17Akakura Onsen Ski Area: mid-DecemberIkenotaira Ski Area: December 17Myoko Suginohara: December 23Madarao Kogen Ski Area: Pre-open December 10-11; full open December 16Seki Onsen Ski Area: no official date posted for this year (December 1 last season)Tangram Madarao: December 17

These dates are when they officially open, of course; if there's no snow, they won't be opening; if there's heavy snow, many will open earlier. We'll keep you posted!